Apples, Hot Cider and More Apples

A lone apple acts as a paper weight for the napkins.

I pass a field every morning when walking my children to school.  These wildflowers (some might call weeds!) were so beautiful!  I had the mums, so stuck a few of those in the arrangement.  I hope these are still blooming in a month...

Some apple crate vintage labels help brighten up this beverage display.

Hot and Fruity Wassail will warm up the bones on a cool October evening.

I made a small pot to sample.

Another vintage label decorates the drink dispenser.  I love the color of the aqua blue and red!

Dish towels are the easiest and least expensive way to add color to a kitchen or any vignette.  Often, I am inspired by a simple dish towel!

A basket of cups is ready for guests.  I mixed ironstone and enamelware cups, white mugs and a few tin cups for the children.

Some cinnamon sticks are used to stir the cider.

Mason jars of candles and acorns will light up the evening night.

What do you do with all those apples?  Well...my children got a special treat of candy apples on this day!  My husband will make dried apple rings for snacks with most of them!

I packaged some of the crisp, red apples with a vintage label and gave away!  Apples are yummy and make such beautiful displays!

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Rob's brother is getting married!  We are throwing a shower for the happy couple in one month.  I am working on some different ideas to see what will work for a late October evening.  The hot cider station will be outside near the bonfire for folks to sip a little cup of fall! 

Hot and Fruity Slow Cooker Wassail

6 cups apple cider

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbsp. grated lemon rind

46 oz. can pineapple juice

Slices of orange or other fruit (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and let simmer or cook on stove top.  Serve warm with cinnamon sticks.  "Wassail" is a term which refers to a warm, spicy punch served in the holiday season.  Your kitchen will smell good, too! 

Enjoy!   

(The recipe was given by a friend of my sisters.)

The beverage container was purchased at World Market several years ago.  Dish towels are finds from Tuesday Morning.  The tablecloth is vintage.  I searched the web for 'vintage apple crate labels' to find the ones above.  There are so many!  The large basket holding the cups was found at Buckett's in Charlotte, NC.  The blue enamelware mugs are from Wal-Mart.  The small blue tin cups are from a child's picnic basket purchased at Ross.  The ironstone cups were a recent flea market find.  A vintage lard bucket holds the flowers.  The old white chair is from a pair that I found at a flea market. Smaller baskets were collected through the years.   

I am joining these wonderful link parties!

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Thank you for the feature!